Thursday, September 3, 2015

Creating a Royal Mess Along 9W

The
Town Boards of Marlborough and Lloyd recently voted to ignore sound advice from
the Ulster County Planning Board [UCPB] on how they could sensibly plan future
development along Route 9W, which passes through both municipalities.

After
the present members of these boards are no longer in office, the impacts from
their imprudent planning will be felt by residents for decades to come.

Both
boards barreled right ahead and approved forms of zoning that will all but
ensure subpar and crass forms of development, while irresponsibly promising the
public that they will be able to control what is built, where it is built and
how it will look at the end of the day.

County
Planning warned Lloyd that “the doggedness which the town continues to pursue
the commercial zoning of the [Route 9W] corridor is not backed by any needs
analysis or facts that are available to the UCPB.” In the eyes of the county,
Marlborough fared no better; stating that they are rezoning their corridor “to
an entirely commercial or industrial district,” which increases the likelihood
for “strip commercial development and its negative impacts on community
character, traffic safety and the environment.”

We
rarely see the County come out so strongly against what a town is proposing but
they are rightfully warning Lloyd and Marlborough about the pitfalls they will
face. Both towns have now set the stage that will allow a train wreck to happen
– not all at once, but bit by bit, drop by drop; but it will take place.

Little
comfort should be taken from the boards promises that after these zoning
changes they will be especially careful stewards of the land because by the
time they realize their folly it will be too late; the damage will be
irreversible and irrevocable. If it is not fixed now everyone in Lloyd and
Marlborough will be living with mediocre and bottom line development; not
tomorrow but most likely sooner rather than later.

We
urge both towns to scrap their recent zoning changes and show the public that
they will reconsider the county’s objections and incorporate their suggestions.
If the boards choose to dig their heels in and stand by such indefensible
zoning, we would remind the public that another form of change is possible at
the ballot box. The actions of these Town Boards should not be tolerated; it is
simply that important.